Reach Out I'll Be There
| producer = Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier | prev_title = Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever | prev_year = 1966 | next_title = Standing in the Shadows of Love | next_year = 1966 }} "Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the Four Tops from their fourth studio album Reach Out (1967). Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is one of the best known Motown tunes of the 1960s, and is today considered The Tops' signature song. It was the number one song on the Rhythm & Blues chart for two weeks, and on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, from October 15–22, 1966. The track also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Motown's second UK chart-topper after The Supremes' 1964 release "Baby Love". It reached number one in October 1966, and stayed there for three weeks. Rolling Stone later ranked this version number 206 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Billboard ranked the record as the number four song for 1966. Style Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that some suggest straddles the line between singing and shouting, as he did in 1965's "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubb's vocal, as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release." Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains Four Tops' signature tune." In 2014, interviewed by The Guardian, Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said: }} Personnel * Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs * Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps * Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers * Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. * Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier Charts Weekly charts 1Remix 2Michael Bolton with the Four Tops Year-end charts Certifications Gloria Gaynor cover "Reach Out, I'll Be There" was covered by Gloria Gaynor in 1975. It was the third of three singles released from her LP Never Can Say Goodbye. Gaynor's version of "Reach Out, I'll Be There" became an international hit. It reached number 60 in the U.S. and number 16 in Canada. It did best in Europe, where it reached number 14 in the UK and number five in Germany. Chart history Weekly charts Year-end charts See also *''Reach Out: The Motown Record'' *[[List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1966|List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1966]] *[[List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1966|List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1966]] *List of number-one R&B singles of 1966 (U.S.) *List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s References External links * Category:1966 songs Category:1966 singles Category:1971 singles Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles Category:Four Tops songs Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:Gloria Gaynor songs Category:Michael Bolton songs Category:MGM Records singles Category:Motown singles Category:Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Category:Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Category:Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson Category:Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles